The weekly sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1886-1887, 1887-03-17
A JAUNT IN PERSIA.
Preparations Necessary for a Mountafheer-
ing Trip in the Shah's Dominions.

Preparations Necessary Tor q Mountaiheer-
ing Trip in the Shah's Dominions.
This is the way we were obliged to
prepare for the trip in order to reach
our destination. 1t was essential that
we should take with US tents, bedding,
crockery and sufficient animals to carry
ourselves, the servants and the outfit.
This required the employment of much
talking and of occasional thrashing
when the insolence of the cbiUadars, or
n1uleteer, interfered with the clinching
of bargain. After several days of
preparation all seemed ready for the
start One curious circumstance about
the journey, however, was the fact that
we were obliged to journey by night.
The great heat makes it impossible to
travel in Persia in the middle of the
day during the greater part of the year.
Our departure was therefore SO timed
that we could have the benefit of the
full moon. Once on the road, and
winding through narrow lanes at a
moderate walk, we were able to OBJ
serve what an imposing procession we
made. At the head rode the gitiodar,
or equerry, mounted on a white Shira-
zee Arab stallion. Two gentlemen fol-
lowed, and next to them came several
ladies on donkeys. The tachtraUam was
next in order, carrying the invalid of
the party. This is curious vehicle
peculiar to Persia and Turkey. 1t is
covered litter borne between two
mules. and contains sliding doors and
windows. 1t is rendered reasonably
comfortable by mattresses on which a
| person can lie at full length. The
of IS OFT nos
handsomely decorated, and mention is
made of Kings of Persia using it many
centuries ago. But generally this con-
| veyance is more heavily constructed
than is necessary, owing to the diff
Guilty of finding wood which is at once
| light and strong in Persia. The march
of tachtravan is necessarily tediously
slow, but it is announced for long dis
lance BY the strings of jangling bells
carried by the ayly-decorated mules,
! which do not, however, seem to appre-
ciate the wealth and weight of orna-
ment lavished upon them. On level
roads the tachtravan is a real luxury
but when there is steep ascent or de-
scent combined with bad roads, this
form of locomotion is not only very try
| ing to the mules, but. is also a severe
strain on the rider, both on account OF
the exertion requisite in preserving his
position and the nervous strain caused
by watching the frequent peril of being
hurled over precipice. At the
| head of the leading mule marched
a stately Arab, Abdullah Ibn Hassan
His gait was that of a prince; he
was six feet in height. sparely built anC
perfectly erect. y camel s-hair tuniC
reached to the ankles. His head wa!
muffied with a striped mantle bound
around the forehead with white cord
His swarthy features were haggard bu
vet handsome, and the dark orbs which
flashed from under cavernous brow
were marked by proud and romanti
melancholy, deepening into a glow 0
injured pride tinged with sadness whel
he was refused backsheesh, as if h.
would reproach you for having disap
pointed the confidence he had reposet
in your elevated generosity. What
standard is to an army was this son O
the desert to our humber train. II
gave to it such a bearing that he seemc
to be the chief person in it instead of
poor mule-driver earning twenty cents
day trayersing the wastes of an ancien
land-a muIe-driver by descent and tn
father of mule-drivers of the future. Il
looking at Abdullah Ibn Hassan | wa
led by very whimsical turn of the min
to think of La Fotheringay, in ThacB
ery's "Pendennis. Did that grea
reader of human nature realize when h
delineated her character what a typ
she is of numerous class who are S
richly endowed with lofty mien an
aspect that until they open their mouth
and betray themselves they pass fo
something far higher than they are
S. G. W. Benjamin, an Century.